Texas Hunting Times

Texas Hunter Education Classes Offered

All hunters born on or after September 2, 1971, and 17 years old or older must have completed a Texas Hunter Education class to legally hunt in Texas, unless they purchase a one-time Hunter Education Deferral. As necessary as hunter education classes are, they can not be offered without trained instructors. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be conducting a free hunter education new instructor training workshop on Saturday, March 12, 2011, in Waco.

The hunter education program’s goals are to reduce hunting-related accidents and violations; promote safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunting; and enhance hunting traditions and values. Hunter education provides instruction in Texas hunting regulations, wildlife management and identification, conservation, ethics, firearm and hunting safety and responsibility and outdoor skills. The hunter workshop will be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 8451 Gholsen Road in Waco.

Instruction will be offered for new applicants and currently certified hunter education instructors in skills trail, live firing exercises and home study procedures. The training puts fun and exciting activities into the learning experience. Students will benefit by going through actual hunting simulations and by making their own decisions regarding responsible actions using “shoot-don’t-shoot” scenarios.

Before attending this workshop, you must go to the following web site and prepare yourself by going over the hunter education instructor training manual. You will sign an acknowledgement and release that you have done this pre-workshop assignment as part of your training. The site can be found here.

Once again, every Texas hunter (whether a resident or non-resident) born on or after September 2, 1971, must successfully complete a hunter education course. By understanding hunting through education, hunters and non-hunters alike will help make a bright future for the sport. To register to become a hunter education instructor, contact TPWD Area Chief Brent Heath at (254) 722-5660.

Feeder Pen Size for Deer Hunting

Question: I deer hunt in North-Central Texas. Next weekend, I plan on building a round feeder pen at my deer lease. I am purchasing ten 16-foot hog panels that are 34 inches in height. I have heard that if the feeder pen is too small deer will avoid the feeder.

With this in mind, how big will my feeder pen be using ten panels and is this big enough? Also, I would appreciate any tips on how I can get a perfect circle and how may posts would I need. Thanks for your help.

Answer: Pen size is important because deer do not want to feel confined. Your panels total 160 linear feet, so with that you will be able to construct a circular pen with almost a 51-foot diameter (diameter = circumference/3.14). That is plenty big for whitetail deer. Of course, going to big is cost prohibitive and gets out of hand. I think 10 panels will make a perfect size pen. As far as fence post, I would suggest putting two post per panel, or one post every 8 feet.

To get a perfect circle, place a stake directly under your feeder or proposed deer feeder location. Then, loop a string half the length (25 feet) of the desired diameter of the circle over the stake and walk around the stake while keeping the string tight and marking the ground with your boot or some other tool.

We recently built 3 feeder pens and used eight 16-foot panels for each of them and they looked good. I think they were plenty big, so deer should not at all feel confined in your ten panel pen.

There is still a little time before spring green up, so I suggest getting your pen built before it gets hot. This will also give deer plenty of time to become familiar with your setup. Good luck with your upcoming deer hunting season.

A $13,000 Buck Shot by Hunter?

Every hunter dreams of shooting a truly unique buck while deer hunting that hopefully has large antlers to boot. Well, many large bucks are shot each year across the whitetail deer’s habitat, but not all that many of them are piebald. I received an email today about an big piebald buck that was shot and allegedly sold for $13,000 to the sporting goods retailer Cabela’s. Here are the photos and how the thirteen thousand dollar story read:

“Here is a buck that a deer hunter got in Wisconsin. He sent these pictures to a bunch of people to see what he could get and the owner of Cabela’s paid him $13,000 for the head and hide. A calico buck, like this one is rarer than an albino.”

Continue reading A $13,000 Buck Shot by Hunter?

Planting Trees for Better Deer Hunting

There are many ways to make whitetail deer hunting on your property or hunting lease better. Whitetail are the most popular big game animal in North America, so it should come as no surprise that hunters are always trying to find habitat management practices that can make the deer on their lands bigger and healthier. One way to provide additional food for whitetail is by planing trees for deer.

For those of hunters that have been considering plant fruit, nut, or various other tree types to support the wildlife on your property, remember that between mid-November and mid- to late February is the time to plant if you’re doing seedlings.When the trees are in dormant state, they react more favorably to replanting. This allows them to set up their roots over the winter to some extent, making them ready for warmer weather and spring rains. This is also when food is most abundant for deer, so browsing pressure on your new tree should be lower. Continue reading Planting Trees for Better Deer Hunting

Deer Hunting Tough in Coke County

Comment: I deer hunt a 1,750 acre lease near Robert Lee in Coke County along the Colorado River. We have 11 paid deer hunters and this year not a single mature buck was taken. In fact, very few bucks at all were even seen during hunting season. This is unheard of for our whitetail hunting lease. Almost every season each hunter is able to harvest at least one 120-ish inch mature buck, with the occasional 140 incher taken, and a couple of mature does.

I spoke to a few deer hunters around us this tough hunting was not just limited to our ranch. I know that the water is way down in the river from prior years, but there is still plenty of water around and on our ranch, so I can not blame our poor deer hunting on that. Someone even rumored that a mountain lion was killing deer, but I doubt that would cause such a widespread issue. We thought everything was going fine, but deer hunting this past year was slow. What’s the deal? Continue reading Deer Hunting Tough in Coke County

Day Hunts for White-tailed Deer

Question: I was looking to get a season deer lease, but with them so expensive I was now thinking about day hunting for deer in Central Texas. With this in mind, I am now searching for a place that offers good day hunting for whitetail and maybe even some hogs. I don’t necessarily want the cheapest, but I am not looking for the most expensive either. Anyway, if you have something like this or know someone, please contact me or leave message here. I have yet to decide what to do, but but know the deer hunting leases that I have found so far I can’t afford.

Answer: That is a good question about day hunting, but one I have yet to address to date. First, as far as quality goes, I would not expect a whole lot when it comes to day hunting for white-tailed deer, especially if you end up going deer hunting during mid-season. This is because most hunters want to hunt early in the deer season and these places, like most properties, get the most pressure early in the deer hunting season. Continue reading Day Hunts for White-tailed Deer

8 Point Piebald Buck Shot in Wayne National Forest, Ohio

There is just something about hunting white-tailed deer that seems right. The predator-prey relationship between hunters and whitetail has existed for centuries, and something must be working because we still have hunters, we still have deer, and we still have deer hunting. Every deer is special, but it is especially memorable when a hunter has the opportunity to take a unique animal, such as a strange-antlered buck, or because of the odd manner in which the deer was harvested, or because the deer has an uncommon color, such as an albino or a piebald.

After reading the title to this article you know that we are talking about piebald deer today. And you have to admit, there is just something special about a deer does not look like other deer. The fact that color abnormalities are fairly rare makes a piebald deer a trophy for any hunter, whether it be a buck or a doe. Joshua Asher was hunting in Wayne National Forest in Hocking County, Ohio, when he had the opportunities of a lifetime. No he didn’t see several piebald deer, but he saw some strange colored deer on more than one occasion. Continue reading 8 Point Piebald Buck Shot in Wayne National Forest, Ohio

Improved Deer Hunting: Plant Japanese Honeysuckle for Whitetail Deer

Question: I am interested in providing additional forage for the whitetail deer in my area in order to improve body condition, grow better antlers, and improve the overall deer hunting. I know that browse plants make up a lot of a whitetail’s diet, and have been thinking about planting Japanese honeysuckle because I know that they like it. Do you have a place to purchase Japanese Honeysuckle seed? Have you ever purchased seedlings or has it just always grown naturally where you’ve hunted? Thanks.

Answer: Better deer hunting is something that you can make happen, and you are on the right track. Deer management that leads to better deer hunting is all about age, genetics and food. You have two options because there is native honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle. Although I would suggest trying native honeysuckle over introducing a foreign plant into your area, the choice is up to you. I have seen Japanese honeysuckle growing in the wild and it does not completely dominate areas like some non-native plants can do. Maybe that is because deer love it. Continue reading Improved Deer Hunting: Plant Japanese Honeysuckle for Whitetail Deer

Whitetail Deer For Sale

Although white-tailed deer hunting has been around as long as there have been hunters, it was not until recently that one could find whitetail deer for sale. The practice of breeding and selling deer is not for most hunters, but many understand how genetic manipulation combined with other deer management techniques can be used to improve deer hunting on a piece of property.

Many states allow deer breeding and the sale of deer to other breeding facilities and private ranches for deer hunting. Most antler traits, such as number of points, mass, and tine length, are highly heritable and make the management of deer, whether penned or free-ranging, viable. Many ranches look to buy deer to jump start genetic improvement on their properties. Since research has shown that does are as important—or even more important—than bucks, you can see why quality does are an important part of any managed deer herd. I received this email:

“To Deer Hunting ranches: We have 19 adult doe out of Billy Martindales “Lumpy” (208 B&C) blood line that are bred to our buck “Bambi Saw Buck”. He is out of Robert Williams “Bambi” blood lines and scores 257 3/8’s at 4 years old. He was 240 at 3 years old. We are offering these deer to hunting ranches for $1,500 each and would be an excellent addition to your operation.

We can deliver to you. Attached is a flyer of “Saw Buck.” Best way to contact me is my cell number 903-340-XXXX. We are moving our breeding facility and must move these deer in the next sixty days. One or all 19. We also have limited semen from him at one straw $750, five straws for $3,000, or ten straws for $5,000. Collected by Champion Genetics in Canton, Texas.”

The state of Texas has become a hot spot for deer breeding in the past 15 years because of interest in producing big bucks. With that said, Texas had been rather slow in allowing captive breeding and the sale of of white-tailed deer compared to some states in the mid-West. In Texas, and deer “liberated” from a breeding facility is considered a wild deer and can not be recaptured.

Mule Deer Hunting in Texas

Every year thousands of hunters look to go mule deer hunting in Texas. And yes, Texas does have some really nice mule deer. Just check out the photos below from Gaines County! But do not confuse whitetail deer with mule deer. Mule deer differ from white-tailed deer in many ways, including their general behavior, food habits, population dynamics and habitat preferences. Properties that hold quality mule deer bucks must implement management practices specific to mule and, of course, regulate mule deer harvest.

Mule deer are one of the most valued game animals in the Trans-Pecos and Panhandle regions of Texas. Whether because of their limited distribution, relatively low numbers, or their unique appearance and behavior, most Texas landowners view mule deer as a very valuable resource. With that said, many hunters also value mule deer, especially Texas mule deer. Although many hunters head to Colorado or Wyoming mule deer hunting each, there is just something special about a home-grown mulie buck. Continue reading Mule Deer Hunting in Texas